[recipe] Northern Comfort Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes

Jeff’s buttermilk pancakes are one of our most popular breakfasts here at Northern Comfort B&B. I have to admit… I’m not super fond of sweet breakfasts, and hardly ever willingly eat pancakes or waffles, but I really love Jeff’s recipe. They are light and fluffy with a smooth, rich flavor. The secret is buttermilk.

We often serve pancakes with wild blueberries. Sprinkled on the pancakes, the berries add a bit of sweet, summery tartness that’s heavenly. We get our wild blueberries from a local gentleman in late summer and vacuum seal our berry hoard with a Food Saver. In general, one cup of berries is perfect for pancakes and scones. Just enough for the recipe.

When freezing blueberries, if you aren’t planning on storing for a long time, it’s perfectly fine to just toss into a large ziplock bag. Unlike raspberries and blackberries, blueberries won’t’ stick together if put in the freezer in a bag — no need to freeze in a single layer on cookie sheets! You’ll be able to scoop out exactly how much you need.

Since we get so much at once and know we need in one cup ‘servings’ we go ahead and vacuum seal. If you are sealing, work quickly and make sure your berries are frozen — don’t allow them to soften at all or you’ll end up with some mushy, juicy vacuum sealed berries!

If you don’t have any wild blueberries stashed away in your freezer, the berries in the frozen section at the grocery will work as well, although I know Jeff gets frustrated using the commercial frozen berries since they are so much larger.

Test griddle by sprinkling a few drops of water on it - the water drops should sizzle and bounce if the griddle is hot enough.

Prep the griddle/pan with remaining 1/2 teaspoon of butter. Wipe off excess.

Using a 1/2 cup measuring cup, pour pancake batter, in pools a few inches away from one other. Sprinkle berries into batter.

When pancakes have bubbles on top and are slightly dry around edges, they are ready to flip. This will take between 2 and 3 minutes.

Flip and continue to cook until golden on bottom, about 1 minute.

Notes

We usually serve with a sprinkle of confectioners sugar. Use a fine wire mesh sieve to apply the sugar evenly.

We also love to provide a bit of contrast on the plate with our pancakes. Our favorite is bright, fresh strawberries with just a teeny bit of sugar to jumpdrive the sweetness. We usually mix the berries and sugar right before starting the batter.